A superfast link to Internet

New technology ADSL heading to Lubbock

But just how fast subscribers can tap into the lightning-speed Internet service is another matter.

That's because the platform now in place is apparently not ready to handle an onslaught of customers, given distance limitations placed on the technology, according to local competitors who are chomping at the bit to sign up eager customers.

ADSL is a high-speed modem technology capable of delivering broadband services at a rate up to 200 times faster than the highest speed analog modems now available on the market.

Four weeks ago, Tech Telephone hooked up its first test subscribers making use of Southwestern Bell's platform through The Door, a local Internet Service Provider to get the ball rolling.

However, David Sharbutt, chief executive officer of Tech Telephone, said making the technology work is an ongoing challenge.

''We're offering it and we have some customers, but the problem is Bell (platform to deliver the speeds) isn't quite ready to handle it and we're just not satisfied with the results.''

Joel Hohenberger, general manager at Tech Telephone, said customers that his company has connected are pleased with the results. ''When it works, it works great. The problem is, it's complicated and it does have some limitations,'' he said.

On Aug. 30, Southwestern Bell Internet Services will begin rolling out ADSL to the general public followed by Windmill Info Services, a locally owned ISP that will do the same on Sept. 6 as part of a contractual arrangement with the San Antonio-based telecommunications company.

Bell officials said The Door's rollout date has not been set, although it is doing so through Tech Telephone.

Windmill officials, for their part, are ready to roll with ADSL and were expected to begin testing the technology late last week.

''We should see our first customer connected in about 10 days. There's a huge demand for this service, but only a limited amount of technicians that can actually install it,'' said Bill Curnow, system administrator at Windmill.

Another problem companies face is connecting customers. Not every customer of Bell or Tech Telephone will have access to ADSL.

In fact, much of it depends on a customer's proximity to one of four central offices which serve as an ADSL pipeline.

According to Bell, the closer a customer lives to one of the four offices, the more dynamic the ADSL connection which at top speeds can deliver downstream (from Web site to computer) at 1.5 megabytes per second and upstream (from computer to Web site) connections guaranteed at 384 kilobytes per second.

Bell officials fully admit that cable loop distance and other factors will affect actual speeds, and in fact are currently addressing that problem, according to Kevin Long, a senior technologist with SWB.

While distance and other technical questions are now being addressed by Bell, Tech Telephone and the ISPs delivering the service, one thing is for certain: ADSL will change the way most hard-core Internet users surf the World Wide Web.

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For example, while much has been made about fiber optics, which is the way the signal is delivered from the phone company to the ISP, the fact is ADSL functions at its optimum level along old-fashioned copper lines that run into the majority of homes by allowing the signal to expand the bandwidth of the phone line.

According to Bell and Windmill officials, that allows ADSL to ''piggyback'' the line allowing the user the surf the Net while still talking on the phone or operating a fax machine.

''Once we connect you up (to ADSL), you're always connected. It's always on. There is no dialup (to the ISP),'' Long said.

And that, he says, is the beauty of the ADSL technology, which in Texas has already been rolled out by Bell in the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex, Houston and Austin.

''Certainly our initial deployment will not cover 100 percent (of our customers), but if you live near a CO (central office), you're going to have access to ADSL. The closer you are to that equipment, the faster your connection will be,'' Long said.

Tech Telephone's Sharbutt agreed. ''This is a distance sensitive product and that's the issue, but a couple of folks we now have using it are getting some pretty good speeds,'' he said.

Officials at both The Door and Windmill said they've already taken quite a few initial orders for ADSL service and expect that number will grow once the high-speed technology is readily available.

ADSL generally costs more than typical Internet connections which require an analog modem to dial up an ISP where users must wait, with no guarantee they can get on the Internet if traffic is heavy.

''And that's the difference (between the typical connection) and ADSL. It's fast, very fast,'' said Windmill's Curnow. ''You can load a page before you take a sip of coffee. It's a dedicated connection. If your computer is on, you're on the Internet.''

ADSL apparently is being marketed in Lubbock under ''two flavors'' fast and very fast.

Pricing structures vary between SWB and Tech Telephone, but users in other parts of the country generally pay under $50 a month for the service with unlimited access to the Internet.

Other one-time costs involve equipment, such as a PC interface card, an ADSL modem and splitter as well as installation.

Subscribers must also get ''loop qualified'' to determine whether or not ADSL is available to them based on their distance from a central office.

In Lubbock, subscribers should check with their ISPs for loop qualification and pricing information.

Bell officials estimate ADSL should be available to about 40,000 residents once its up and running.

''A lot of our users tell us its like having a live connection to the Internet. It's (ADSL) going to herald in a whole new era,'' SWB's Long said.